Third Chance
by Heart Farmies
Summary: An epic Jetara story in which he doesn't die, the Freedom Fighters reunite, Katara swallows her pride, Aang moves on and Sokka finds unexpected love. JxK,AxT,SxTL
1. Gone Forever

**I** **will vehemently deny that Jet is dead. Even if the writers have confirmed it I decide to remain blissfully ignorant. That being said, this is a Jetara story – don't like it, don't read it. Personally, they are my favorite ship, no matter how fun Zutara is to read, because I think that Jetara is such a tragically beautiful pair (plus Jet is like, amazingly awesome). Not trying to offend anyone here, but Kataang, in my opinion, is way overrated ;-) Another pairing... Ty Lokka. They're so fun laughs maniacally Expect some of that in here. **

**Now that my little speech is done, I don't own Avatar (frowny face), because if I did, Jet would most certainly be alive, and Jetara would prevail over Kataang. **

**That being said, here's a quick summary (better than the short one)- **_**Jet's alive, although most thinks he's dead. The Freedom Fighters band together once more in hopes of helping to reclaim the fallen Earth Kingdom (and not to mention unloading a can of Fire Nation whoop ass). The gaang **_**(I love that word chuckle), **_**are still looking for a firebending teacher when they not only**__**have a run in with Azula and her minions, but the FF as well**_**. **_**Read to know what else happens ;-)**_

**One last bit. I have NEVER written any Avatar fics before, so PLEASE review, tell me what you think. Any form of review (CONSTRUCTIVE criticism though. Purely constructive only.) would be a great boost to my self – confidence. Katara is a little OOC here... But Jet just died so, understandable, right? And I use quite a bit of dialogue from the show here so... **

--

_Don't know what's going on. Don't know what went wrong. Feels like a hundred years. I still can't believe you're gone, so I'll stay up all night with these bloodshot eyes while these walls surround me with the story of our life. _– Gone Forever by Three Days Grace

--

Generally, when I'm surrounded completely by my element, I feel at peace. I feel like nothing in the world could go wrong, no matter how screwed up everything happened to be. I feel like my element – calm and soothing. But as I gazed into the water far below us, it felt as if my heart, my mind, my body and my soul were being tossed around in a hurricane. Aang's hand on my shoulder, while a comforting gesture, did nothing to calm the storm of pain I felt. I knew Jet was dead. How could he not be? His injuries were so severe that even my healing couldn't help him, let alone _save_ him. But maybe if I had used the spirit water... AGH! No, there was no way for me to save him. Right? Plus, Toph said he was lying, and I trust her on that, no matter how much it hurts to accept.

Personally, I think that Jet is... was... a pathological liar. Seriously. You know, it only makes sense that he would lie to me before he dies. Honestly, why wouldn't he want to jab one more barb into my heart? It's not like he didn't put enough there to begin with.

Bastard.

But why did he have to die? La, why did he have to die? It's not fair. He had turned his life around. He was a good person. He didn't deserve this. No one deserved to die in a creepy underwater Dai Li base where just days earlier they had been brainwashed into believing everything in life was great. Maybe that was a little specific. He still shouldn't have died. Not after I had finally forgiven him. Especially not after that.

"Katara?" My brother's voice broke me out of my musings. "Not after you've forgiven who?"

Crap. I said that out loud. "No one." I fired back nervously. There was no need for Sokka, or anyone for that matter to know what I was thinking. They'd just try to comfort me anyways, and all I wanted was to be able to sit in the back of Appa's saddle and brood. I wasn't in the mood for anyone to talk to me.

With an amused tone, Toph laughed out, "Whatever you say, Sugarqueen. I can tell you're lying."

Drat. I curse her little lie detector feet. They've only caused pain. And suffering. And more pain. Literal pain this time. My healing has come in handy when she gets a little riled up. Or bored. One stomp and my water goes to work. A curse upon her feet. I frowned and responded with, "Don't push me, Toph. I'm not in the mood." In the deepest part of my mind I knew she was trying to get some sort of normalcy going between all of us, but it wasn't helpful. Not now. We weren't even out of sight of Lake Laogai for La's sake! I deserved some time to be pitiful and pathetic to mourn Jet and normalcy won't help that at all.

"Toph," Aang's voice broke through softly, "not now."

The earth bender looked put out and pouted slightly, unhappy that she had been told off by two different people. "Whatever."

Quiet overtook our group and my eyes glazed over, not only with tears, but with memories. Jet honestly wasn't a bad guy. Misguided, yes. But bad, no. My opinion might be slightly biased, though. Because I did _really _like him. Sokka says I go for the bad boys and I chase after relationships that could never work out. By that logic I should have romantic feelings for Zuko. Creepy thought. Besides, Jet wasn't like that (that being a bad boy and a relationship that could never have worked out). He was a charismatic, charming, and dare I say, hands down _hot_ guy who I was able to connect with. The time spent with him and the Freedom Fighters was some of the best times I've had (taking out the whole blowing up the dam and flooding the city part, of course) on this journey. I envied their carefree style that they were so easily able to mesh with their mission of giving the Fire Nation as much trouble as possible. The Fire Nation really _does _have to worry about a bunch of little kids – case in point would be Jet and the Freedom Fighters. Maybe Aang would be a better case. He's 12, and destined to take down the Fire Lord. They have every right to be worried.

Jet was an all over pleasant experience that I will never want to forget. Ever. But he wouldn't want his death to keep me from kicking some serious Fire Nation ass, and it won't. I let a solitary tear roll down my face and shook my head to clear my mind of any depressing thoughts. We needed positivity (not to mention all the luck in the world) to find a firebending teacher for Aang. That's what Jet would want, and that's what we need.

"So," I said, my voice surprisingly calm, "what now?"

Aang and Sokka looked startled to hear me so composed, Toph just smirked, thinking her calling me 'Sugarqueen' got me out of my funk. Wrong. That just pissed me off.

"Look," my brother started, "we escaped from the Dai Li, we got Appa back, I'm telling you, we should go to the Earth King now and tell him our plan. We're on a roll."

On a roll? Seriously? Jet dying is on a roll? "One good hour after weeks of trouble isn't much of a roll." Not even a good hour. But Sokka obviously didn't pick up on the cynicism in my voice.

"We can build on it. If we want to invade the Fire Nation when the eclipse happens, we need the Earth King's support."

Toph looked at him critically. Or looked at him critically as much as she could. "What makes you think we'll get it? I don't know if you've noticed, but things don't usually go that smoothly for our little gang."

Damn straight.

"I know, but I've got a good feeling about this. This time will be different."

I hate optimistic Sokka. "Sokka, Long Feng is in control of the city. His conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful. I think we should just keep flying and leave this horrible place behind us." Plus, we wouldn't be near Jet's death zone!

"I'm with sweetness." Minus one point for nickname, plus two points for agreeing, "I've seen enough of Ba Sing Se and I can't even see!"

More optimism! This time in the form of Aang, trying to diffuse the situation, "But now that we have Appa back, there is nothing stopping us from telling the Earth King the truth about the conspiracy and the way."

Optimists unite. "See, Aang's with me. It's the whole reason we came here in the first place, we have to try." Sokka grinned wildly, and I sighed, agreeing with him.

"Well, I guess if the Earth King knew the truth, things could change."

Two more points for Toph for voicing my beliefs, "I don't trust the new positive Sokka." She pointed a finger in hi direction, "Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he?!"

It would make sense. Sokka is never positive. _I'm _the positive one. Something is completely off here. But I can see where they're coming from. I guess. Okay, I'm still not on board with the plan. This must be how Sokka feels a lot of the time, what with Aang and myself always looking on the bright side and refusing to believe that anything bad is going to happen. I think that I'll start taking Sokka's thoughts (and Toph's when she agrees with my brother) a little more seriously now.

Turns out that Toph and I were right. (Take that optimistic Sokka!) We were attacked as soon as we came towards the Upper Ring, but they underestimated this group of kids. The Imperial Guards were so much easier to take down than the Dai Li were (and they weren't all that hard, either. You just needed to be aware of here they were). I felt bad about attacking them, though. It looked like they were in some real pain. I hate seeing anything in pain (well... Long Feng could die for all I care. So could Azula and Ozai. I want them to suffer. Suffer for all the things they have done. They will get theirs. Oh yes, they will get theirs...), but we needed to warn the Earth King that Long Feng was...

"They're here to overthrow you."

Shit. How did he get here before us?

The Earth King looked offended when we said we were on his side, "You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to _trust you_."

Yes. Yes we do.

"He has a good point." Toph added, sardonically.

"If you're own my side, then drop your weapons and stand down."

Fair enough. Against our better judgment, Sokka dropped his boomerang and club, Aang set down his staff, and Toph and I both let our elements drop to the floor.

Aang, still the ever friendly optimist, "See, we're friends, your Earthiness."

I looked at him incredulously. _Earthiness_? But hey, if it works... But it doesn't. Of course it doesn't. long Feng (He WILL get his) signaled the Dai Li to attack us, binding our arms behind our backs. I was completely defenseless, my water bending rendered useless, Sokka couldn't reach any of his weapons, Toph... She could probably still bend her way out of this situation, but both her and Aang stood there along with us, confusion written on all of our faces. This was _so _not boding well for us.

"Detain the assailants." Did I mention how much I hate Long Feng?

The Dai Li skated toward us and took a position behind each of us while Sokka decided to speak, "But we dropped our weapons. We're your allies."

Long Feng had a wicked smile on his face, "Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again." HA! He mentioned the Avatar. Now the King will have no choice but to listen to us. Team Avatar 1, Long Feng 0.

"The Avatar?" He pointed at Sokka, "_You're_ the Avatar?"

We all laughed and Sokka nodded his head over to Aang, who had effortlessly escaped his bonds before letting them to be bound behind him again. "Over here."

"What does it matter you Highness? They're enemies of the state."

I hate Long Feng. I love Bosco. The bear lumbered up to Aang, sniffed him, and licked his face. Apparently that struck a chord with the King who turned away from Feng and burned a look at Aang, "I'll hear what he has to say." But Bosco's approval didn't apply to helping our case of the secret war (King's words.) and trying to convince Kuie that Feng and the Dai Li were controlling both him and the city. "Your claim is difficult to believe, even from an Avatar." Understandable. But come on! Who would you trust? Your advisor, or a group of kids who destroyed your palace... "I have to trust my advisor." That figures. Can our group catch a break sometime?

But Sokka came to our rescue, "Wait, I can probe he's lying. Long Feng said he's never seen a Sky Bison, ask him to lift his robe." Ew. I think I'll turn around right now. As much as I want him to go down... I don't need to see him without any clothes. Innocent eyes here! But Aang, oblivious to my discomfort blew a huge gust of air at Feng which blew up the minister's robes. Ew. But Appa's teeth marks left a quite obvious bruise. Birthmark my ass. Appa opened his mouth. Perfect match.

The Earth King nodded, "Yup, that pretty much proves it." Could this guy get anymore gullible? Honestly, it could have been a birthmark shaped like Appa's teeth. How on earth the Earth Kingdom resisted the Fire Nation's attacks for so long is a complete mystery to me. "But it doesn't probe this crazy conspiracy theory. Though, I suppose this matter is worth looking into." Not what we were hoping for, but eh, we'll take it. Went better than I hoped.

But the Earth King wasn't about to believe us without seeing the evidence about the underwater base at Lake Laogai... Which wasn't there. "That seems awfully convenient." She frowned, "Long Feng was right, this was a waste of time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace." But apparently a ride on Appa was all it took to convince the King to visit the outer wall. "I have to be honest with you. Part of me really hopes that what you are telling me about this war... isn't true." Don't we all. If it wasn't true, my mother would still be alive, I'd be with my father back home at the South Pole, Jet would still be alive... But I wouldn't have met all of these people, so I guess there is some good parts to the war. Damn. Optimism is coming back. Come on sarcasm! I like you!

As we approached the wall, the drill was still implanted into the outer defenses, "I can't believe I never knew." The King glared at Long Feng who tried to explain all of it. Construction project. Right.

Sarcasm! "Really? Then perhaps you can explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on your construction project." For now, I want to be the sarcastic, comic relief in the group. It's actually quite fun. Sokka can remain the naive optimist. So far, this is working out fine for all of us.

The King narrowed his eyes at Long Feng who was staring at them in alarm. He sputtered out something about domestic machinery being unreliable, but the King remained firm. "Dai Li, arrest Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom." HA! I told you he'd get his.

"Looks like Long Feng is 'long gone!' Ha... Of yeah, I've been _waitin'_ to use that one." Hold up Sokka. I'm comic relief now.

Back at the palace, the King was hesitant to send his troops to fight with us on the Day of Black Sun, but we convinced him that we needed them. It is true. We need all the help we can get, even if the fire benders have absolutely no power. They're still skilled in hand to hand combat. He agreed swiftly, and things were looking up. And only got better when General How, one of the Council of Five, walked in with a box, filled with various documents. One addressed to Toph – a letter from home. A scroll attached to Appa's horn for Aang. And an intelligence report for Sokka and myself about the whereabouts of... a Water Tribe fleet. "Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay, led by Hakoda. It is Dad!"

I don't think there was a frown anywhere in the throne room. From Toph's letter it appeared that her mother accepted her, I honestly thought she might start crying on the spot. Aang had found a guru (or rather the guru found him) that said he could help him control the Avatar State (La knows he needs that!) But... This meant our group was going to be splitting up. Our family was going to be separate. Again. Why does Sokka have to bring us down? "Someone has to stay here with the Earth King and help him plan for the invasion. I guess that's me."

Like I said. I hate people in pain, "No Sokka. I know how badly you want to help Dad. You go to Chameleon Bay, I'll stay here with the king." Sokka cried. Literally. I am the nicest sister ever.

Aang looked distraught as they were packing up to leave and he pulled me aside, "Katara, I need to tell you something. I've been wanting to say it for a long time." My curiosity was officially peaked, "Katara, I..." Sokka interrupted us by throwing Aang into a headlock and giving him a noogie. La, my brother is a freak. So, I'll never know for sure what Aang wanted to say, but if it's what I think it is. Not going to happen. I pecked him on the cheek like I would Sokka (if he'd allow that kind of physical affection.), I'll miss my little brother while he's gone. A bear and a... slightly _off _king won't be able to fill the void that my family leaving is making.

However, three of the Kyoshi warriors had just arrived, so Suki and the other two warriors could give me some good company. Happy that we knew them, the King said warmly, "Then we shall welcome them as honored guests."

I said Toph looked like she was about to cry, didn't I? Because she looked like it. Again. "I'm really gonna miss you guys." Aang and I threw our arms around her, and we swarmed Sokka, catching him in a final group hug. I was going to miss them so much.

I'm going to skip forward a bit. The Kyoshi warriors arrived. I haven't talked to them. I've helped the Earth King and his soldiers and the Council of Five catch up on our plan and now... I'm want tea. And according to the people at the palace, the Jasmine Dragon Tea House is the place to go. So, why not. I'll be out of the palace (which can get rather stuffy) and some jasmine tea sounds _really_ good. With Momo on my shoulder I walked toward the ship, "What do you say Momo? A cup of tea before we get back to the king?" A slight nod from the lemur and I walked inside, "Table for two please." A familiar voice calling out the four different teas he needed caught my attention. Zuko. I stood in shock before fleeing as fast as my legs would allow me.

First Jet, and now Zuko. Who next? Azula?

Breathlessly I got to the throne room where I saw the three Kyoshi warriors were kneeling before the King, "Thank goodness you are here Suki. Something terrible is going on. The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city. I just say Prince Zuko and his Uncle! We have to tell the Earth King right away!" Suki's voice seemed off, and I stood there, dumbstruck.

Of course it had to Azula. And the other two must be Mai and Ty Lee. I just _adore _my luck.

Ty Lee rushed toward me, jabbing me quickly before I could strike any of them with my water bending. I lay there, helpless, listening to Azula's slimy voice, "So, Zuzu's in the city too. I think it's time for a family reunion." That was the last thing I heard before being knocked out cold.

If being knocked out isn't enough, after a few minutes of coming to, I heard a rumble, and down slid, you guessed it – Zuko. And I have no idea why, but I decided to talk to him. La, I'm an idiot. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me." I held my necklace closely, and began sobbing. Quietly, I heard behind me:

"I'm sorry. That's something we have in common." Guess he has a heart after all. Who would have thought?

Feeling a piece of guilt eating away at my soul, I stayed in my position, but replied back with, "I'm sorry I yelled at you before." I hate apologizing. "It's just for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face." I had turned around by this point and Zuko was touching his scar lightly, "No, no, that's not what I meant." I'm a sucker for hopeful speeches so for some idiotic reason, I offered to try to heal his scar, "This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I have been saving it for something important. I don't know if it would work, but..." I put my hand silently on his face and started to reach for my water when Aang and Iroh burst in through the opposite side of the cavern. I jumped away from Zuko and ran to embrace Aang. Turning back, Zuko looked... disappointed. Poor guy.

But I didn't feel that way for long. I honestly thought he had changed. I thought that he was a good guy. But when he shot the fire at us... I knew that nothing had changed. He was still the same spoiled prince, wanting the Avatar to 'regain his honor.' Bull. "I thought you had changed!" I yelled at him.

"I have changed." He said while sending blasts of fire my way.

I slid my eyes over to Azula and Aang, the two fighting heatedly. I held Zuko off as long as I could, but he knocked me out in a double attack, Azula from the top and him from the front. I collided with a cluster of crystals and was, yet again, knocked unconscious. But I regained it quickly, not surprised at all to find myself surrounded by a group of Dai Li agents. Idiots. They really think they could take me on when there was an endless supply of water surrounding me? Yet... I still had a hard time taking them down. There were just too many. At this point, I thought I may be seeing Jet sooner than I had anticipated. My life was flashing before my eyes, remembering all the times Aang had gone into the Avatar state... Aang was going into the Avatar state. Azula, Zuko and her minions didn't stand a chance against him now.

Or not. Does everything have to go wrong for us? Aang was rising up, and preparing for an attack when a bolt of lightning shot him down. Azula. I stared, horrified at his unmoving body, remembering him telling me that if an Avatar dies in the Avatar state, the reincarnation cycle would be broken, I needed to get him out of here. Fast. A wave I sent washed Zuko and the Dai Li away and I grasped Aang's unconscious body. I looked up helplessly, and to my surprise, Iroh jumped down, between me and the advancing sibling duo. He yelled at me to get out of here and I wasted no time. Aang needed to be healed, and he needed to be healed fast.

You know, I never looked back at Iroh. I never thanked him. We owe him everything. It seems that I lumped him with his nephew. I was wrong. Iroh had honor. Zuko had none. Iroh had a soul. Zuko wasn't capable of it.

Appa's saddle was a tight fit, with Earth King and Bosco joining us. I had barely enough room to lay Aang down and grab my spirit water. Thank La I didn't use it on Zuko's scar... Or on Jet. Otherwise, Aang wouldn't have survived. But he barely did. For a few moments, I thought he was dead. The water simply lowered into his body, and I thought it was all over. The Fire Nation would win, but a groan from Aang brought tears of joy to my eyes. My little brother was going to be okay. At least one positive thing came out of this. Aang was still alive.

There must be a law out there stating that things always go from bad, to worse because Ba Sing Se sure was like that. It started with Joo Dee (shudder. Creepy lady) and her basically locking us up, to Jet dying (I think that might be the worst... But that's just me) followed by finding out the Kyoshi warriors really _weren't_ the Kyoshi warriors (what happened to them anyway?) and then having Zuko betray me and finally having Aang be killed (and then brought back to life, but still). Now all we needed was the Earth King to say that the Earth Kingdom had been conquered. And he wouldn't do that, right?

"The Earth Kingdom... Has fallen."

Of course.

**--**

**So? Please tell me what you think, I'm still trying to figure this out. And if you couldn't tell, this chapter is all from Katara's POV. Normally I don't do 1****st**** person, but I wanted to get into her head more. Next chapter (if you deem this worthy to continue) will be all about Jet, Smellerbee and Long Shot. **


	2. One X

**I'm only putting this one up the same day, without any reviews because the story doesn't really start without this. So, don't expect two chapters in one day (I don't write this fast usually) or a new chapter without the previous having any reviews.**

**Second chapter. Yeah. Don't own Avatar tear**

**Jet (and Smellerbee and Long Shot, of course) come into the story at this point. Takes place relatively the same time as the first chapter. It's just Jet, Smellerbee and Long Shot rather than Katara's POV of what is going on in the final Book 2 chapters. Enjoy :)**

**Oh, and I haven't written any fight scenes before so... Yeah.**

**--**

_We are the ones, we get knocked down, we get back up and stand above the crowd. We are one. We are the ones, we get knocked down, we get back up and stand above the crowd. We are one._ – One X by Three Days Grace

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It was the first time that Long Shot had spoken aloud to someone (let alone an entire group) other than Jet or Smellerbee. It was also the first time that Long Shot had given out anything close to an order. His words left almost no room for argument (didn't stop Katara, of course. Jet had to take care of that) shocking the entire group. Even having been one of his closest 'confidents,' Smellerbee had never seen this side of him.

As the door behind them shut, Long Shot notched an arrow and pointed it at the other opening. "Jet? Smellerbee?" His quiet voice spoke again, "Are you two going to be able to fight?"

Jet smirked lightly and winced as he switched into a sitting position, "If Smellerbee will go grab my other hook sword, I will be." Smellerbee immediately ran to where Jet had thrown his sword and raced back to help him stand up, "It's going to take more than a huge rock to keep this Freedom Fighter down." He grasped the two swords and walked slowly to Long Shot before settling into a battle stance. Even though he was woozy on his feet, he knew this could be his final stand, and it was going to be one that the Fire Nation, and these Earth Kingdom freak benders would never forget.

Long Shot allowed a small smile to grace his face before it went back to a stoic expression, "Smellerbee?" He needed to say nothing after, because the small girl rose to her feet and drew the dagger from under her clothes and unsheathed the longer dagger that was resting on her back. That, combined with the feral look in her eyes, was all the confirmation the two boys needed to know that she was in this until the end.

They all were.

They had nothing to lose.

As if in slow motion, Jet counted out fifteen Dai Li agents rushing through the opening with three more staying at the entrance. Which made... Six for each of them to take on, if he did his math correctly. Mental math had never really been his strong suit, and the incredible pain he was in was somewhat blocking his cognitive functions. Ever being the leader, Jet whispered "Long Shot, can you get the three at the door?" The other boy chewed his lip and nodded lightly, "Alright, Smellerbee and I will cover you." He turned his head to the girl, "I'll take the left, you take the right?"

"Whatever you say, Jet." She said with a grin.

For a moment, neither side moved a muscle, waiting for the other side to make the first move. Smirking, Jet whistled a bird call, bringing back memories for the three of the time spent in the forest and signaling Long Shot into action. He whistled back, and his arrow flew through the air and struck the Dai Li agent at the shoulder, the one place the armor didn't cover. He crumpled, and the rest sprung into action.

True to their word, Jet and Smellerbee guarded Long Shot as he shot arrow after arrow at the Dai Li at the opening. The three were constantly moving, doing their best to avoid having their feet restrained. It would be all over for them, then.

A pair of rock gloves shot towards Smellerbee who, using one dagger to stop them, spun around quickly to baseball hit it back to the agent in front of her. She ducked sharply as two rocks came hurtling at her from either side, narrowly avoiding being stuck in between them.

Jet had taken a much less defensive approach and had run straight to the troop of Dai Li, despite his wounds making it extremely painful. He hooked two of the agent's feet and brought the swords together, effectively making the two hit each other, knocking them out quickly. A rock sent from his right nailed him on his side and he gasped in pain, nearly letting his swords fall. Grunting in agony he picked himself up and charged towards the one who hit him. One sword hooked his left ankle, the other hooking under the agent's right armpit. He was flipped and out before he could draw up any earth to stop him.

Thanks to Long Shot's accuracy (hitting, and incapacitating, seven more) as well as Jet and Smellerbee's attacks, they were down to six Dai Li. Unfortunately, Jet was tiring, Long Shot was running low on arrows, and Smellerbee was getting attacked from all sides. She had completely abandoned fighting, and was now totally on the defensive.

Running a tactical eye over the scene, Jet signaled for them to change tactics. Long Shot abandoned taking out those closest to the door in favor of those who were going after Smellerbee, and Jet took up fighting the ones at the door. A quick slide (and on the way taking down another agent), Jet was at the door, and with a few fancy foot moves, Long Shot was in place to help out Smellerbee.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the archer take a stance and draw an arrow, but also at the same time glared at the boys. They knew she could hold her own. But she had no time for anger, as it was taking all her energy dancing from side to side, avoiding the rocks that were being thrown at her. Her annoyances ebbed away as the onslaught of rocks being hurled her way started to slow down to nothing. Long Shot had gotten the four surrounding her swiftly and she smiled at him in gratitude. He gave her a small grin and the two turned to Jet, who was in a dead lock against the final agent.

This time, Long Shot initiated the whistle. Jet smiled smugly at the Dai Li in front of him and stepped to the side, whistling back at the same time. The agent looked confused for a millisecond before his eyes dulled and he dropped to the ground.

Jet imitated the Dai Li agent, crumpling to the ground as well. The adrenaline that was pumping through his body during the fight was waning, his body was starting to shut itself down. "Long Shot? Smellerbee?" His voice was weak, life force fading, "Good job." His body slumped over, and his companions rushed over.

"Jet!" Smellerbee shook his shoulder, hard. "Jet, stay with us!"

He faintly took her hand, "This was a great victory. Too bad most of them won't remember it." He chuckled, "I have this feeling that none of them are going to recall this fight for quite some time." He glanced to Long Shot, "Take care of her for me?"

Long Shot shook his head, "No." Smellerbee and Jet looked at him, shocked, "Not alone. You're going to be there with me."

"Yeah, Jet." Smellerbee said, "Wait. I don't need you two to take care of me! I can do fine all on my own!" She furrowed her eyebrows, "But you're going to be there. You're going to be there, and we're going to help Aang and Sokka and Toph and Katara in saving the world. And then we're going to find a place for us to start over – really start over."

At the mention of Katara's name Jet blushed and a warm smiled graced his face, "Katara..." He started to drift off, but not before mumbling, "Can she start over with us?"

"Of course she can." Long Shot looked at him pitifully, "Smellerbee, we need to move him. We need to move him, now."

The girl nodded furiously, "Fine by me. How are we going to get him out?"

Long Shot grabbed Jet's upper body and started to drag him our the entrance, "Same way we came in. If we have any luck at all, the pathway will still be there." He wasn't an idiot, he knew there was a large chance that there was no way for them to get out, but at this point hope was all they had. "Can you grab his legs? I don't want to have the drag sound catch anyone's attention."

"This is the most I've ever heard you say. Ever. Craziness." Smellerbee picked up his feet effortlessly but made a face as she did so, "I hate feet. This is disgusting." She shuddered, looking at them again, "Where have you been walking, Jet?"

Starting to resume his silent persona, Long Shot quietly responded, "Same places you have."

"Well, my feet certainly don't smell this bad." Nothing else was said until the trio reached the ladder leading up to the hatch. "Now what?" Long Shot chewed on his bottom lip, trying to figure out a way that the two of them could get Jet's body up the ladder, "I'm going to try to wake him up. See if he's able to climb by himself, because there is no _way _that I can carry him." She let his feet fall to the ground and went up to Jet's face, slapping it lightly, "Jet. Jet. JET! Wake up!"

One bleary eye opened lazily, "Smellerbee? Wha... Long Shot, why are you holding me up?" He squirmed out of Long Shot's hold, and struggled to his feet, "I can do that myself." Long Shot raised an eyebrow, "Alright. Maybe I can't at the moment." The archer nodded his head over to the ladder, "I need to climb that?" Smellerbee gave an affirmative squeak, "Here goes nothing." Jet's first attempt was a failure, barely making it up one rung before falling down, the next two were no better. "Okay, that's it, ladder. No mercy." He took out his two hook swords, "Maybe this'll work." He reached one hook up, and then the other and pulled himself up off of the ground. "Good enough."

Smellerbee snorted with laughter at Jet's mode of transportation. But it was effective, and the three reached the top, with Long Shot pushing the hatch door open, relatively effortlessly.

Luck was smiling on them as it seemed the Dai Li agents they fought had not bended away the pathway to shore. Slowly but surely, the three Freedom Fighters made their way to shore and started the daunting journey back to Ba Sing Se. Jet needed a healer, and finding one there was their best bet. And if they couldn't find one, well, at least he'd have a bed to lie on.

"To Ba Sing Se?"

"To Ba Sing Se."

The trek was long, and hot, and several times Jet started to nod off again. Smellerbee and Long Shot took turns keeping him awake and walking further ahead to see how far away they were from the city.

Far, apparently. Very far.

It was approaching sundown when Smellerbee ran back to Jet and Long Shot, "I see the city!" She pointed to a small hill, "It's right over that hill."

"Good." Jet smirked, "I'm tired of carrying all of Long Shot's weight." He patted him lightly on the back, "He's getting pretty heavy." Long Shot looked offended before laughing slightly.

Their 'home' was a pitiful place. One room in the lower ring, with a single chair, and a solitary bed, if it could even be called that. A pile of carefully arranged straw would be a better term for it. But whatever it was, Jet collapsed on it, completely exhausted. "Jet. I know this is going to sound totally weird but... Strip. Now." Smellerbee said forcefully.

Long Shot bowed his head, hiding a smile.

"Uh... Okay." Jet tossed his swords to the side, and started taking off his clothes, piece by piece. The armor went first, followed by his tunic to which Smellerbee let out a gasp, "Do I need to take off my pants as well? Cuz, I'll do it ya know."

Smellerbee flushed, "No, no. This is all I need to see." She blushed even brighter as he ran her hands over his abdomen to feel for the injuries, "_Spirits_, Jet... How... Long Shot! Come over here." The archer sauntered over, and raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"What? What is it?" Jet's worried voice broke the two out of their reverie.

Smellerbee was almost giddy, "It's just bruising. Jet, it's just bruising. I don't know what happened... Maybe Katara _did_ heal you, at least to some extent. I'm obviously not an expert but... It looks like you're going to be okay. Just... in some major chest pain for a while."

Jet, while happy, amusingly asked, "That's great, but uh... Do you mind not feeling me up anymore? While I'm quite flattered, I would like to get my clothes back on, we have things we need to do, and it's quite difficult with you laying on top of me."

Smellerbee jumped back, her blush intensifying to where the face paint was indiscernible from her face. "Sorry, sorry." She stammered, "Here are your clothes." She thrust them towards Jet and turned around, oblivious to the silent laughter the two boys were sharing at her expense. "I'll just be... over here. In the corner."

Long Shot, still laughing spoke up softly, "What things do we need to do?"

Jet had finished with the tunic, and was now gathering up his various pieces of armor, "All those things you said we were going to do when we got out of the cavern. You know, help the Avatar and all that." Smellerbee perked up at that, "Yes, Smellerbee. I was listening to you. I didn't just hear you say Katara. And yes, I would like to start over with her. Both times we've started off on the wrong foot. I'd like an honest relationship with her..." He finished by putting his two swords back into place. "And now that I've finished getting dressed, I've finished opening up. Only when I'm unclothed will I say what I truly want to."

"Then Katara better get used to you with no shirt on."

"Shut it, Long Shot. No one asked you."

The embarrassment long gone, Smellerbee scrunched her face up, "How're we gonna help the Avatar? I was just putting that out there. We don't even know where he's going."

"We'll find him, Smellerbee." Jet said confidently, "We'll find them, and get the rest of the Freedom Fighters back. And offer up our services. Spirits know that they'll need all the help they can get. And our group was pretty good at giving the Fire Nation trouble, right?" She nodded, "So, what do you all say to having a little reunion? I, for one, have missed The Duke."

"The Freedom Fighters are getting back together?"

Jet smiled, "And we're going to help take the Fire Nation by storm."


End file.
